Sights Overview

Four avenues (Bealey, Fitzgerald, Moorhouse, and Rolleston) define the center of Christchurch, and the main sights can be reached by foot during an afternoon's walk. Outside the Four Avenues the best way to get around the city is to use the network of buses that radiate out from the center. The urban grid pattern collapses outside the city center and streets curve into crescents and cul-de-sacs, particularly in some of the outer suburbs. Although Christchurch was once a series of villages few of the suburbs retain a distinctive village feel, with the possible exception of the seaside town of Sumner. New suburbs are cropping up most notably in Halswell and in the developments creeping up the Port Hills.

Outside Christchurch, the best way to explore the Canterbury region is by car. Roads across the Canterbury Plains tend to be straight and flat -- they were often based on old sheep-herding tracks. State Highway 1 runs the length of the region, linking all the major towns. State Highway 72 follows the contours of the hills, further inland. The large braided rivers, such as the Rangitata and Rakaia, can only be crossed in one or two places where they meet state highways.